


Snickerdoodles and Staring

by infinitegraces



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cookies, Cookies at 3AM, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-18
Updated: 2015-08-18
Packaged: 2018-04-15 08:59:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4600803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/infinitegraces/pseuds/infinitegraces
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Part of her really kind of wanted to be that bowl.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Snickerdoodles and Staring

**Author's Note:**

> So, two months after I first saw this prompt and decided it was too perfect for this ship not to be written, I finished it.
> 
> The prompt is from onetruepairingideas, http://onetruepairingideas.tumblr.com/post/118162420352/meggannn-bluandorange, "You're baking cookies in the communal kitchen at 3am and I'm angry but also really hungry"

Roommates sucked. Or at least, Katniss Everdeen's roommate sucked. _Literally_.

She had walked into her room after a late evening in the library studying for her music history exam, only to discover her roommate Glimmer on her knees in front of her most recent boy toy. She hadn't even set her backpack down, instead turning and letting the door slam behind her, heading back to the elevator and pressing the button to go down to the basement where her building's common areas were located.

The common areas included a kitchen, a television lounge area, some computers for emergency use, vending machines, and a game area with a foosball table, a pool table, and a retro pinball machine that didn't even cost money to play. If nothing else, the couches in the TV lounge were actually really comfy and would provide her with a reasonable amount of sleep. She wasn't looking forward to returning to her room any sooner than necessary.

When the elevator doors opened, she was immediately hit with the scent of cinnamon and sugar. She checked her phone to make sure she hadn't misread the time. _3:00 am_. Katniss shook her head, figuring the smell was just leftover from whomever had used the kitchen last.

When she rounded the corner from the elevators, however, she stopped. The smell wasn't old at all. It was coming from one tray sitting on top of the stove, still steaming, and another tray that she could see was inside the oven thanks to the light shining through the window in the oven door. And the blond haired baker was standing with his back to her, seemingly stirring something in a medium sized bowl.

"Are those… _snickerdoodles_?" Katniss asked, taking a deep breath and letting the scent of the cookies wash over her. Her stomach rumbled its approval; it wasn't the first sign of hunger she'd experienced since leaving the library.

He spun around, startled. He likely hadn't even heard her approaching; she had always been able to sneak up on people easily.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," she apologized, her cheeks flushing. He was _staring_ at her with those impossibly blue eyes, his mouth open slightly. He had stopped stirring whatever it was in the bowl, though his hand was still clutching the handle of whatever utensil he was using, and his other hand was still helping hold the bowl against his chest.

Part of her really kind of wanted to be that bowl.

It was just her luck, really, that it was Peeta Mellark, of all people, in the kitchen of their residence hall. They had actually attended high school together, but had never interacted much and had, for the most part, enjoyed very different circles of friends. She had seen him around campus since they'd started school at State, but for some reason she had failed to notice that they lived in such close proximity to one another.

Despite the limited interactions they'd had, she knew who he was. And she liked who he was, even if she'd never thought anything could ever come of it. She'd catch a glimpse of him every now and then during one of the classes they had shared, sometimes wondering if she imagined him looking away from her as well and always convincing herself it _was_ her imagination, but the way he was looking at her right now in this kitchen, well…

Something told her she might not have imagined those furtive glances after all.

"It's okay, Katniss, really. At least I wasn't holding one of the cookie trays."

She relaxed slightly, shaking her head in amusement. He had always had a way of making people feel more at ease, even her. It was just part of who he was, even if it had also unnerved her at times. It would be very easy to open up to him—somehow, she had always been aware of this.

"So what brings you down here at this fine hour?" He asked, a warm smile playing on his full lips.

"You really don't want to know, Peeta," was her response. She hoped he'd accept that and move on, but her luck had never been that great when telling people they didn't want to know something. It usually made them press for more details.

"Are you sure? I mean, it can't be that bad, can it?"

He wasn't pressing. He sounded, if anything, concerned. Katniss sighed.

"It's my roommate, Glimmer."

"Glimmer? Isn't she that girl who transferred from—"

"—from Capitol? Yeah. Hi, I'm her _lucky_ roommate." Katniss stuck her hand out as if to shake his, and was surprised when he sat the bowl on the counter and took it in his own.

"She has a bit of a, ah, reputation among the guys on my floor. I'm just glad my roommate has a steady girlfriend so I don't have to worry about encountering her in our room. I can't imagine what being her roommate must be like if what I've heard is to be believed."

"Well, considering the door was unlocked and I walked in to find her on her knees in front of some guy I've never seen before…" Katniss shuddered at the memory. Peeta winced, his face serious.

"That's terrible. Has this happened before?"

"I've walked in on her with a guy before, but never exactly like tonight. She really doesn't seem to care, either. And if I tried to give her a taste of her own medicine, she'd probably just try to join in."

"Well, that's definitely off the table then as far as ideas go," Peeta said, “which is probably a good thing. Though, I'm sure any guy would be happy to help you out without a second thought."

Katniss snorted. "Yeah, right. You've obviously not seen the type of guy she attracts. I highly doubt they'd be attracted to me as well."

Peeta shook his head, amused. "I'm serious, though obviously you've never noticed the effect you seem to have on people, particularly guys. Trust me, I've noticed it firsthand."

She opened her mouth, prepared to say something, but then hesitated. "Well, it isn't like the type of guy she attracts would be my type either, so there's also that. Hey, what's in that bowl you had?"

"Oh, uh, icing, for the cookies. There’s some orange zest in it. Would you like to try some?"

"I could go for a taste, unless you'd rather it go on the cookies first. That won't take long, will it?" She was hoping her stomach could stay quiet long enough for her to actually get a cookie. The odds were not in her favor, though, because her stomach chose that moment to rumble its protest at being empty.

"No, it shouldn't take long. That's probably a good thing if what I just heard is any indication." He grinned at her, grabbing a small spoon and dipping it into the icing before handing it to her. "Here, I can spare a little bit of it for you."

"Thank you, Peeta," she said, taking it from him with a grateful smile. She licked at the icing covered spoon as if it were a lollipop, testing the flavor. "Oh, that is good. It's got a little zing to it, is that the orange zest?"

"Yeah, I love adding that to the frosting. The combination of it and the juice from the oranges, there’s just something I really like about the way it tastes. They have different flavors but they mix well.” He averted his eyes from the spoon and her lips that were currently wrapped around it in favor of starting to ice the cookies. Thankfully, they were still warm, so the icing would stick nicely.

“I’ll be honest, my favorite way to eat an orange is to just peel it and eat it. Navels are the best, no worry about the seeds like you have to do with the others.” She paused, watching him as he worked. She couldn’t help but notice his eyelashes, invisible though they almost were against his fair skin. They were so long, she couldn’t help but wonder if they got tangled when he blinked.

“Katniss?” Her name on his lips startled her. She was still absently nursing the spoon that still had a small dab of icing remaining on it, having become lost in thoughts of him. That really wasn’t like her, truth be told. She was more of a realist than a dreamer, but there seemed to be something about him that brought out that side of her. “Penny for your thoughts?”

She could feel her cheeks warming, unsure if she should say anything to him about where her mind had just been. If she was wrong, if she had misinterpreted the signals he might have been sending her, she wasn’t sure that she could handle his reaction.

But if she hadn’t misread him…

“You have really long eyelashes,” she blurted.

He froze, as if her words had taken a moment to register with him, before sitting the bowl of icing back on the counter by the stove, leaving the spreader in it. Turning back to her, where she stood holding her spoon with such a vice-like grip that her knuckles had turned white, he gently unfolded her fingers from around the spoon’s handle, taking it from her and dropping it in the sink on the other side of the stove.

She stood there silently, her mouth slightly open, intending to let him speak again before she said anything else that could embarrass herself further. But he didn’t say a word.

Before she knew it, he was standing centimeters in front of her—she doubted even a paperclip would fit between them at the moment—and his hands, his soft yet calloused baker’s hands, were cupping her face between them. Her eyes fluttered shut, as if anticipating his next move.

She wasn’t disappointed.

His lips brushed against hers, softly, gently, before pressing more firmly. She had been kissed before, but those paled in comparison to this. She placed her hands on top of his, not wanting this feeling to stop, this feeling of his skin against hers, his lips plying hers gently, the perfect mixture of give and take.

She had no idea how long they stood there, having lost herself in the feeling he invoked in her just from his kisses. He pulled back, leaning his forehead against hers and nuzzling her nose with his.

“Katniss. Katniss, look at me.” She was powerless to resist even his voice right now, though part of her still felt like this was too good to be true. There was no way this could be real, her pessimistic side protested. Her eyes opened, grey meeting blue.

“I just want you to know,” he said, and she could hear the smile in his voice, “that I’ve been wanting to do that pretty much since I realized what kissing someone meant. And now that it’s happened, well…”

“The reality of it definitely surpassed my wildest dreams,” she supplied, essentially finishing his sentence even if the words she used weren’t exactly what he would have said. Somehow, knowing that he’d wanted to kiss her for practically forever made it easier to be open with how she felt about what had just transpired between them.

As she pressed her lips back against his in a silent affirmation that the feelings between them were reassuringly real and reciprocated, Katniss knew that she and Peeta had much to discuss. There would be time for that later, of course.

For now, she wanted kisses and cookies at three in the morning. And afterwards, she knew she’d have sweet dreams.


End file.
